Dark Haired Stranger
by dragonflybeach
Summary: She wasn't sure when she first saw the Dark Haired Stranger. It was just that one day, she saw him at the grocery store, and realized she had seen him before, but she wasn't quite sure when or where.


She wasn't sure when she first saw the Dark Haired Stranger.

It was just that one day, she saw him at the grocery store, and realized she had seen him before, but she wasn't quite sure when or where.

He had been in the park one day.

He had been in the waiting room at the doctor's office.

He had been at Dean's tee ball game.

So the day she caught a glimpse of him out the window when she put Sam down for his nap, she knew what she had to do.

She made Dean some hot cocoa as a treat. Within half an hour, thanks to the warm milk, he was dozing upstairs in his own bed.

She slipped out the back door, around the side of the Hoffmans' house, and crouched low, using Mr. Nicholson's hedges as cover. She silently crept up behind the stranger, a handful of salt in one hand and John's pistol in the other.

He spoke, startling her, without turning around.

"Hello, Mary. I mean you no harm."

She threw the salt on him anyway. "Christo!" she hissed.

He turned to face her, his eyes a startling blue instead of the black she had expected.

"I am not a demon." he informed her solemnly.

"Just a pervert who likes watching women and children?" she challenged, raising the gun to aim at his chest.

"I am an angel of the Lord." he answered.

"You've got to do better than that." she snorted.

"I am an angel of the Lord." he repeated.

"No wings?" she raised an eyebrow.

He looked down at his clothing, holding his trench coat away from himself slightly. "This is a vessel, as it is when demons appear in human form. This is not my true visage."

"And why should I believe you?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"You tell your sons that angels are watching over them." he tilted his head. "Do you not believe it is true?"

"How do you know that?" her brow creased, and she involuntarily stepped backwards.

"I know many things about your family," he replied. "But very little about you. I was curious about you. I came here to seek knowledge of you. I did not intend to frighten or anger you."

"What do you mean, you know many things about my family but little about me?" she frowned. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Twenty five years from now, your sons become my charges. It is my duty to watch over and protect them. I was curious about you." He regarded her evenly, not appearing to be unnerved by the gun still pointed at his chest.

"Then shouldn't you be in 2008 protecting them, rather than here, sneaking around spying on us?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Time is fluid." He explained. "I can be here for hours, but absent from their side in the future for only seconds."

"A lot can happen in a few seconds." she glanced up toward the windows for any sign of the boys.

"Yes, that is true." he agreed.

"How do you know my family, but not know me?" She asked.

"I think you know the answer to that question."

His voice and expression didn't change, yet somehow she felt a glimmer of sympathy from him.

She blew out a breath and nodded. "But the boys are ok, then?"

"They are strong and healthy and intelligent." he told her. "They are both good men."

"They must be close if you are in charge of both of them." she lowered the gun just a bit.

"I have been stationed on Earth, watching humans, for nearly five thousand years." he looked to the upper floor of her house for a moment before meeting her eyes squarely again. "In all of that time, I have never met a pair of brothers who love each other more than Dean and Sam."

"Is John all right?" she asked softly.

"I did not meet John." he answered.

"Oh no," she whispered, biting her lip. Slightly louder, she continued. "How old were the boys when they lost us? Do they end up in foster care?"

"It is best that I do not reveal too much of the future." he responded. "But I was assigned to your sons shortly after they were orphaned. They were both adults."

"Thank you, for telling me." she gave him a sad smile, her eyes filled with tears. "I should go."

He nodded. "I apologize. I did not come to upset you. I simply wished to know more about you. Dean is pained by mentions of you."

"No, I ... " she lowered the gun to her side. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then looked at him again. "I'm glad you're watching over them."

"Enjoy your time with them." he said in way of farewell.

"Thank you." she told him.

"For what?" he frowned, tilting his head again.

"You love them." she replied. "Especially Dean. You're not here just because they're your charges."

"I care very much for both of them, but I do share a more profound bond with Dean." he acknowledged. "I have been disciplined for becoming too close to the humans in my charge."

"Thank you." she repeated, taking a step toward the house. "Can you come sometime, maybe have a cup of coffee with me while the boys take their naps?"

He smiled for the first time. "I would like that very much." He glanced toward the house again. "But you must go now, because Sam is awake. And I must get back to them, because Dean is about to awake."

She rushed up the front walk, looking over her shoulder as she reached the front door, but the man was gone.

She hurried up the stairs, peeking in Dean's room to see that he was still asleep before moving on to the nursery.

Sam lay awake in his crib, slurping on his fist.

She picked him up and carried him to the changing table. "How long have you been awake, Sammy?" she asked as the unsnapped his pajamas. "You were just laying here, sucking on your hand, not afraid at all, weren't you? You don't have to be afraid." she continued on as she changed his diaper. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Angels are watching over you."


End file.
